Inside New Zealand’s High-Tech Plan to Save the Heaviest Parrot in the World
The native kākāpō were nearly driven to extinction through inbreeding and infertility, but genetic sequencing and drones are bringing them back from the brink
In Maori, the name kākāpō means “night parrot.” With females weighing up to three pounds and males nearly five pounds, these strange, nocturnal birds are the heaviest parrot species in the entire world. Once a common sight throughout New Zealand, they have experienced a massive decline since the late 20th century. Because of predators and rising infertility, there were just 51 kākāpō left alive in the 1990s.
But now, thanks to a nationwide effort involving private islands, genetic sequencing, artificial incubation, drones, and miniature tracking devices, their numbers have quadrupled to 211. Using genetic markers to enhance breeding techniques, as well as transmitters and drones to carefully nurture them into adulthood, the New Zealand Department of Conservation has revitalized the kākāpō population — a tech-enabled comeback for a deeply endangered species at a moment when global wildlife is threatened like never before.
The kākāpō, a large, flightless parrot species native to New Zealand, is the world’s…
